


brave shine

by goldenbat



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, contains spoilers, more tags & characters tba, this is a one-shot series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:51:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18843058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenbat/pseuds/goldenbat
Summary: the stage? a frozen present with a seemingly lost future.the protagonist? afraid but willing to take a step into the spotlight.(reader x fgo!various)





	1. succor (karna x f!reader)

**Author's Note:**

> hi, welcome!  
> all i have to say is that this work is completly self-indulgent & all feedback / comments are welcome! i'm a big fan of the fate series (specially fgo) and hope to make nothing but justice to the story and characters through these tiny snippets.  
> please enjoy!
> 
> slight warning: this chapter contains mild non-con.

Your senses felt dulled and your body stiff all over. With a stuttered intake of breath, your initial discomfort began to morph into a rising panic. 

You were in a brightly lit room with tall crystal windows and equally elegant cream marbled walls. The canopy bed, which you had no memory of ever climbing into, sat neatly at the centre and faced the only entrance of the room. The covers underneath you were soft and like nothing you ever had the privilege of enjoying, and you were tempted, maybe just for a second, to bury yourself back into sleep. But whatever sort of spell or unwillingness to leave that lingered, disintegrated when you noticed your current state of dress

“ _ What is this thing?! _ ” You screeched, pulling at the satin babydoll that barely reached the middle of your tights, and your shock was quick to shift into a red hot fury. Oh, you were going to jinx the ass of whoever had changed you into this right into the next Singularity-!

Then you remembered. Your mission, your reality, and most importantly, your current predicament. It rushed through your body like a shock through the circuits of a booting Helter Skelter. 

“I got taken.” You murmured incredulously, your jumbled thoughts rapidly dissolving into the hectic memory of your kidnapping. 

That day had been like any other, rich in near-death experiences and mana exhaustion. Still, something had felt off from the moment you had arrived to meet your enemies head on.  They had had been high in numbers but generally weak, and the whole situation had felt rather...

“Strange.”

You followed the voice to Karna through the mental link. He stood a few yards away and over one of the many protruding rocks littered across the open terrain. To those outside your silent understanding he sounded neutral and aloof as ever, but you knew better. His tone was suspicious and tinted with trouble. 

“Haaaa? Whaddya mean by that? They were weak and that’s that!” Cú drawled from atop an enemy, and even through the distance, you could see his whole frame tilted lazily over Gáe Bolg. Your scrunched your nose in distaste at his usual brutish ways.

“Please step down from there, you know it makes Master uncomfortable.” It was Mash who voiced your silent discomfort. Cú did as told, but not before brushing her off like one would a nagging mother. 

“Yeah, yeah,  _ okaaay  _ I’m down, I’m down. Happy?”

Taking no mind of the exchange, you trotted towards Karna as you mulled over his words.  The attack had felt oddly organized, at least from your usual perspective from outside directing and supporting your team. It slowly dawned on you when your usual short steps turned into four, six...ten….and into a full blown sprint. Your anxiety zapped like an electric shock through your team that, even with the mental link in place, became tangible when they too noticed that you were just short from their immediate reach. 

Suddenly, the familiar screech of a wyvern broke through the open area. Your team reacted in sync, but it was Karna who dived in a blur of red towards you. A group of wyverns quickly swept into the space between you to intercept him as Mash and Cú furiously took on the winged beasts that rained from above.  

Karna was definitely stronger, but it was those seconds and miscounted steps the only opportunity the enemy had needed to catch him off guard. Just as he pierced through the monsters with a powerful swing of his spear you felt yourself being violently ripped from the ground. 

“Ugh--let---l-let me--go---you--!!” 

Thinking quickly, you unbuckled your white jacket and let gravity pull you downwards. The panicked scream that escaped you fueled Karna’s pace, especially as he noticed you free falling right into the herd of wyverns and with the pack leader already back and hot in pursuit. 

Your rapid falling made it hard to focus and form a proper spell. The wyvern had managed to pull you pretty high, and you could already feel the effects forming black spots over your vision. Just as Karna appeared to have caught up with an arm at the ready to catch you, a fresh group of wyverns pushed in from the sides to shove him back and away from you. That was enough for the leader to sweep in and capture you again. Karna cursed loudly as he made a move to throw his lance above the wyverns to strike their leader down but was quick to notice that getting a clear shot without risking your integrity was simply not an option.

The last thing you remembered were his bright and wide eyes. Never had you seen such raw emotion paint his features and the mere recall of it was enough to fill your eyes with unshed tears.

“No, no, stop it. No crying, I need to get out of here!” You chastied yourself, shaking your head and slapping your cheeks. Filling yourself with determination, you jumped out of the bed, ready to find figure your way out of whatever enemy fortress you had been thrown into, but not before ripping the satin sheet from the bed to wrap it around yourself in a makeshift toga of sorts. 

Sharpening your magic, you threaded carefully through the room, skimming your hands over the walls and possible exists. As expected, the twin doors were a big no no when a violent purple zap made an attempt at biting at your hand when you reached for one the handles. Far from discouraged, you moved your attention towards the nearest pair of windows. 

“ _ Are you kidding me?! _ ” 

Not only were you on what you had rightly assumed as a fortress but also a humongous and flying one. This definitely was the work of a high-class mage, maybe even a Servant. The density of the magic was a mess, intentional or not, it was hard to pinpoint its nature and source. Reaching out to your team was also impossible and things were definitely bound to get messy the longer you kept yourself offline. At least you remained in one piece, but given Cú’s brashness and Karnas unpredictability, it was worrisome to think what would happen without your leadership. Knowing them as long as you had, not even Mash’s level headedness would stop them from shooting the whole thing down. 

So with resolve steeling your nerves, you pushed the window open and made a move to take the jump. A wind spell would do the trick-

“Well now, I really didn’t think you would do it.” Your heart sank to the pit of your stomach as you lost your balance against the frame of the window but a grip was quick to snatch you back inside and against a foreign presence.  

“Mm, noooot so fast. I didn’t lose half my force to the Child of the Sun to have you gone so easily, little birdie.” You didn’t recognize the man in the slightest. He had long black hair and fair features. What terrified you the most was the cheery smile he supported as he looked down at you with your back to his chest and his grip like one  would hold a lover. 

“Let me go!” He tilted his head to the side, pouting. You struggled, but your strength was nothing against his grip.

“Ehh? No, no, that won’t do. I can’t have you ruffling your feathers and trying to break away from your cage. So for now, how about some more sleep?” His whole open palm engulfed your vision, and with a single pulse of his magic, you were gone back into the realm of nothingness.

 

__

 

“Dammit it all!” Cú roared, chest heaving and Gáe Bolg stained thickly with blood. Mash, who had been pressed to his back for the whole duration of the fight, almost collapsed against him. It was clearly not from exhaustion, but from the events that had trancured moments prior. Despite their victory, they felt no satisfaction whatsoever. 

“They took us for fools and snatched our Master right from under our noses!” He raged, passing back and forth as the purple mist of the enemy cleared away.  

“I’ll take their heads, Gáe Bolg with stain this land with their blood! No whisper of their existence will remain by the time I’m through with them-!”

“P-please calm down! Getting work up will only ruin our dynamics as a team, and that’s exactly what the enemy wants!” 

“The Shielder speaks the truth. Cool your temper Child of Light.” 

Karna descended from the sky, already done and through with his enemies. A silent fierceness hung heavily over him, and if it wasn’t for their nature as Servants, the pair would've collapsed on the spot. With a single flick of his wrist, the Lancer wiped away the blood off of his own weapon against the floor in an bloody arc. 

“You? Telling me to calm down? Tch, surely you jest!” Cú spat at him, clearly alluding to his shaken state. He certainly didn’t share the same level of understanding held between you and Karna, but they had definitely spent countless of battles together for him to pinpoint a crack on his fellows Lancer’s mask. Your abduction and his failure to save you had definitely taken a toll on him. 

“Those beasts dulled my lance, mind giving it some of your blood to sharpen its edge?”

“Come on then! I’ll take you on right now, pretty boy!”

“That’s enough Cú!” Mash stepped in, her shield pushing him back. He staggered back, surprised at such a physical response from the usually tame Shielder. The use of his real name simply accentuated how upset she felt at their behaviour. 

“...whatever.” 

With Cú down, she swiveled to zone in Karna, her visible eye blazing. 

“ _ And you! _ Master would be ashamed at seeing you like this, so please get it together! At least for her!” The mention of you had an instant effect. Karna lowered his weapon but remained impassive. Locking eyes with Cú over Mash’s head, he found a mutual understanding. 

“Shall we pulverize them?”

“Ha! For once we’re in agreement, let’s do this!”

“Wait--WAIT! No, we need a plan-! Ugh, you--you brutes! Wait up, you don’t even know where they took her!” She fretted, following reluctantly after the long strides of the two warriors. Cú quieted her protests with a feral grin as he raised spear towards the path the leader wyvern had taken off with you. 

“No worries, Gáe Bolg nevers forget the beat of a heart. It will lead us to Master!”

“Okay, but..!” 

“Ehhhhhhh? What is it now? We’re losing time!” Cú trotted in place while Karna looked on impassively. Mash, however, cried out in dismay. 

“ _ Where’s Fou?! _ ” 

 

___

 

“That bastard, I’ll get him back for this-!”

This time around, instead of a comfortable bed, you had woken up chained to an altar atop an open area of the flying fortress. It was void of life except for the howling of the wind, harsh and unforgiving on your exposed skin. If whatever this madman had planned didn’t kill you, then the cold surely would, because yet again you found yourself scandalously dressed. The source of your angry embarrassment this time around was a long white dress with a neckline so deep it surely stopped being a dress altogether. 

“And what’s up with the tacky outfits and forcing this whole damsels in distress scenario?!”

As if summoned by your angry rant, the culprit behind your imprisonment appeared with the familiar cry of a wyvern. Stepping down from his perch on the beast, he patted its snout once before turning to look at you with that same chilling smile.

“My, I’m certainly surprised you insist on maintaining up your spirit despite the situation. What can I say? I’m a big fan!” He trotted up the steps of the altar before reaching you. An enraged screech erupted from your lips when he dipped his fingers up your exposed navel to your chest and up to your lips. Indignity didn’t suffice at describing your level of humiliation. Never, in all of your misadventures, had you encountered such blatant disgrace. Not even the evilest and most twisted of enemies you had clashed against had lost their shame when fighting against you. You were either a bug or an equal adversary, but never the protagonist of a perverse fantasy. For that very same reason, you would never would you give him the satisfaction of seeing you break. You held his gaze, strong and steady. 

That made the corner of his lips to twitch and his smile to thin dangerously. 

“You’re just so... _ human _ .”

You allowed your surprise to slip over your features. His words, the magical mess and his fair features. It all made sense now….!

_ Homunculus _ .

And worst of all, a deeply resented one. You could see it now that you  _ really  _ looked at him. He was the embodiment of the magical disturbance. A mixture of magic, that moaned out in agony as if sentient, coiled around him in different coloured tendrils. Screaming, crying,  _ rejecting him _ . You pulled away in instinct, the chain clanking and reminding you of your captivity. The golden restraints made so much sense now. They would keep you down and watch you bleed as this monster- 

Any trace of faked charm was gone and replaced with raw insanity. Like a feral beast, his arms fell around you like a cage with his face a breath away and pinning you down with madenned eyes. 

“Yes, that’s right. I’m a  _ monster _ . Come on say it, let me see it fall from those lips, let me watch your fear! Let me see the humanity I’ve been denied!” You remained silent. Terror definitely clutched at your heart, but like many times in the past, you remembered…

_ I’m not alone. They will come. He will come.   _

“You... _ you _ won’t get away with this.” 

“ _ Ha! _ ” Like a viper, his hand sized your face, dragging you up by your cheeks to meet him. You cried and struggled in pain, fueling his madness even further. 

“Of course I will, little birdie! I must credit your defiance but not even that has stopped me from annihilating those of your kind before. Servants or not, they shall become nothing when I’m done with you!” 

With that he slammed you back into the surface of the altar. You grunted and whined in pain, curving your back at the pain that exploded over the area. He laughed and laughed as he stepped away and left atop his wyvern with a silent promise of his return hanging in the howling air around you. Reflex tears ran down your cheeks, and because of the awkward angle caused by the chains, down your lips and over the exposed skin of your collar, chilling your skin ever further.

“Foooou?” 

A familiar tail peeked from behind the edge of the altar, before bobbing a few times and fully revealing itself as the tiny familiar. You couldn’t help but cry out in joy as he jumped into your chest with your relief mirrored in his own tiny sparkling eyes. 

“Fou, oh my god, oh my god, I-I’m so glad to see you! How did you even get here?! Are you okay, he didn’t get you did he?! If he did I-I swear I’ll-!”  He silenced you by pressing his paw over your lips. You stared at him crossed eye and nodded slowly in understanding before relaxing. 

“Foou, foou, fouuu!”

“You jumped from Karna and into the wyvern at the last minute?! I didn't even notice you!”

“Fooooou, fou!”

“And you manage to escape from the room and scout the area? That’s amazing, Fou! You’re so brave!” 

“Fooooou….fouu...fou…”

“Oh… no, no, you don’t need to apologize. This is all my fault, but enough of this, we need to work together to get out of here!”

“Fou!” You blinked at that and nodded slowly in agreement. With that monster gone, Fou’s proposal was certainly a viable option...

“You’re right, I need to focus. I can do this, just...give me a minute...”

A strong anchor was always the best catalyst for a powerful spell, and you needed yourself in place to summon your magic and zap these chains away from you. Instantly, time smoothed into stillness as images of a certain Lancer bloomed from the darkness of your closed eyelids. 

Karna was the man that held your heart. The warmth was innate to his entire being, both inside out, and after so much together, he had allowed you to experience it first hand. Because of his lack of experience with communication and his past permanency as an untouchable deity, you had tried to keep your advances subtle but fully heartfelt even when they, more often than not, went right over his head. You had fallen for him as he was. His soft caresses were fleeting, and his kisses nonexistent, but something in his eyes spoke of your affections for him maybe not being entirely one sided. 

Your restraints were gone with a single but powerful tug of your wrists. They dissolved into thin golden powder that dusted you in your newfound freedom. Fou squealed happily, and wiping your face with the back of your hand, you allowed him to jump and secure himself where your neck and shoulder meet. 

“Now, let’s get out of here!”

 

____

 

Thanks to Cú, they had managed not only to find the humongous flying fortress, but also managed to infiltrated it without arousing any suspicions. At first he had seethed in perverse joy at getting to blow a whole through the humongous fortress, but Mash had been quick to protest.

“You can’t do that! We have a plan, so stop trying to  _ literally  _ blow our cover!” She rose one of the many gadgets provided by Leo and Dr. Romani to stress her point. The small device was a tracker built with the only purpose of keeping tabs on you through a small pebble-like chip implanted on your uniform. Something was interfering with their magic and your collective mental connection, so following the tracker was the next best thing. Cú could do nothing but grumble and comply. 

After continuing to navigate the fortress, taking enemies carefully as they went, they reached a grand marble entrance. Having been silent and compliant since the beginning, Karna didn’t hesitate to plow right through it. Cú opened his mouth to complain but stopped for the sake of joining his fellow Lancer to face their opponent. 

The area, reminiscent of that of a throne room, was as white as the rest of the inside of the fortress. A large stained glass casted colour and an almost ethereal glow over the room and its sole occupant. Cú bristled at the monstrosity before them, Gáe Bolg drawn in a flash of instinct. 

“You’re not to intervene on this fight, Shielder.” 

“Eh-?!”

“Mash, listen to him.” 

Their shared seriousness scared Mash. She had a hard time getting a reading of their opponent, especially with the pair standing like a barrier before her, but whatever the Lancer’s had seen or felt, it was enough to earn them her compliance. So with a hesitant nod, she summoned her shield and stepped back. 

“Mmm, good call. Your place on the Throne is not for nothing, I see!” 

The unnamed male spoke up from his perch on the throne. Cupping his cheek, he twirled between the fingers of his free hand a small and familiar pebbled chip. All colour drained from the Mash’s face, and observing her reacting from the corner of their vision, each of the Lancer’s  tightened the grip they each had on their weapons in similar realization.

“I’m not interested on that succulent singularity you guard like dogs, you Master has quenched my appetite for now.” He mused, licking the tiny chip before crushing between his fingers. Cú growled, features wild and red eyes like a blazing fire storm as Mash gasped almost tearfully. But it was Karna the one that almost blew them again with the tangibility of rage. 

“ **_I will have your head_ ** .”

Blinded with fury, unlike any of them had ever seen before, he meet your captor head on. Their clash was a blur of exchanged blows and spells so intense, Cú had no option but to stand back behind Mash’s shield, ready to relieve him if necessary. Just as Karna charged his weapon to strike him with a deadly shot, a familiar cry reverberated across the room. 

“ _ Incoming! _ ”

Not even Karna, already shaken enough, could mask his shock at the scene that transpired.

The stained glass was shattered in a rain of colours with your dramatic entrance. The most flabbergasting fact being not your scandalous and ripped dress, but the pack of creature you lead. The wyverns screeched and went berserk all over the room as Cú’s roar of laughter broke through the tension as he took on the beasts. Mash did the same as she flushed in embarrassment at your state. 

“Alright, that’s  _ my  _ Master!”

“S-s-s-ssssenpai, p-p-please cover yourself!!”

“What is this madness?! YOU! HOW DID YOU FREE YOURSELF!?” The homunculus howled, barely dodging a blow from Karna that managed to nick his neck. Focusing his attention on the Servant, he was scared to his core at the newfound strength he found there. 

“I told you you wouldn't get away with this! Karna _ - _ ” You fumed before turning to his opponent and releasing the hold you had on the trashing wyvern. With nothing but trust in your actions, you let yourself fall. 

“-catch me!” 

With a mighty swing of his lance, he sent the homunculus flying and out of the way. Catching sight of you had been enough to clear the angry fog that hung over his senses. It was also in that very moment that he realized he never wanted to feel so out of touch and uncontrolled about his feelings ever again.  

He shoot up to meet you halfway. Your arms fell over his neck with familiarity as his weight supported the momentum of your fall. Karna felt the wetness of your eyelashes before the tears even fell, and as your trembling grip cupped the back of his neck and your nose brushed under the shell of his ear, he also felt his heart throb. 

All your pain, all your fear and humiliation reached him through your shared link. He felt no anger, no thirst for blood or revenge, instead he found a strange form of resolve bloom over his center. It was time to end this suffering, once and for all.

“I knew all of you would come. I knew  _ you  _ would come.”

“Always, starlight.” 

Splaying your hands over the jewel in his chest, you let your remaining command spell to flow and allow him to deal the final strike. In the end, your captor, that poor creature wishing to attain perfection, had been nothing but a poor victim of his own circumstances. No one like the Hero of Charity himself to put him and those he had tormented finally at ease. 

“Hate me. Resent me. All shall end and begin anew, but you shall be no more. It is time for the tormented to find their rest.  _ O Braham Cover the Earth:  _ **_B R A H M A S T R A_ ** _! _ ”

 

___

 

“M-Master, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Mou, you gave us quite the scare! The stupid Doctor could not get the connection going, so I feared the worst for a second!”

“That’s just cruel! You know I tried my best Leo!”

“Foooou!”

“Not you too!!”

You laughed lightly at the ruckus around you, Karna’s feathered cape shaking with your laughter and tickling the skin of your neck. He had to strategically accommodate it so that it didn’t muffle your voice but covered your scantily dressed form for completely. With a healthy rosy blush liting up your features, you happily buried your nose into the soft material.

“I don’t really blame you, y’know?” Cú mused from beside him, arms crossed over his chest as he too watched on from the sidelines. Karna’s earring clinked as he tilted his head as a clear sign that he was listening. 

“She has a beautiful spirit. I would not be surprised if she joined us back at the Throne when the time comes.” The blue haired Lancer snorted when Karna fixed him with a stony glance from the corner of his vision. 

“Ha! Calm down, I would long since snatched her away if I truly desired her. She’s still my Master, and I know my place. So I trust you’ll take care of her, yes?” 

He turned his attention back at your laughing form, that despite the ripped dress, your fresh bruises, swollen bare feet and still hurt pride, remained standing. You beauty truly extended beyond your spirit. It was something tangible that had become the foundation of the hope that fueled the future of not only Chaldea, but mankind itself. 

He would stand and support you. Silently and with his love.

“ _ Always _ .”


	2. trust (mordred x f! reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here's another chapter. mordred is tricky to write, so i hope you like the way i took on his character. enjoy!

Mordred was being weird, again.  
You had noticed a shift in his demeanor for the past week or so. It began small, like avoiding your eyes whenever you raised to meet his after feeling them intently on you, or becoming especially irritated whenever Kiyohime or Minamoto no Raikou hovered especially close. You were tolerant to his brash and possessive ways, as you understood it had roots on his past and darkest of insecurities, but your saint like patience had its limits even when it came to your beloved red-clad Knight.  
One afternoon in particular, you were sorting through some paperwork with Fou curled on your lap when Mash burst through your door with her pale features tinted with trouble. You fully expected the alarm to blare with her entrance but nothing happened right away. Furrowing your eyebrows you slowly stood up, Fou following your movements and running up the length of your arm to curl around your neck.  
“Master, it’s Mordred!” Her urgency laced words sent you on high alert, but the mention of the Saber’s name made your heart skyrocket up to your throat. You were quickly out the door and following after Mash through the halls, your anxiety ridden heartbeat growing as you neared the source of what could only be described as the remains of a hot burst of mana. The magic felt angry and destructive, and you felt your Command Seals throb with the onslaught of emotions.  
The lunch hall was a mess of upturned tables and soot marks all over the walls and floor. The few Chaldea staff that lingered cowered behind the figures of Gawain and Tristan, whose backs were to you and Mash. Their weapons weren’t drawn, but you could feel their own mana fighting to keep the source of the destruction at bay. Gawain took notice of you first. He opened his mouth to address you, probably to stop you, but you pushed past him to come face to face with the epicentre of the chaos.  
It was Mordred. He held Clarent to Merlin’s neck as his shoulders heaved up and down from his barely contained rage. The Grand Caster sat at the last standing table, with some tea even laid out before him. He caught your eye before whispering something unintelligible to the Saber and holding up his hands in a show of mock surrender. The Saber’s reaction was instantaneous. His hair frizzled upwards with the crack of his red thunder, serving as a clear and final warning for you to make an intervention.  
“You damned incubus, I’ll have your head for that-!”  
“Mordred, that’s enough!” Clarent stopped a breath away from Merlin’s neck, taking with its edge but a single strand of light hair. The Caster didn’t even flinch, but the same couldn’t be said about the Saber. At the ring of your voice, all angry and aggressive sparks of mana that lingered around him evaporated into thin air. His horned helmet and sword deconstructed away quickly after, and by the time he had turned around to fully face you, he was back on his shorts and favorite red jacket.  
Whatever mix of emotions were on display across your features made even the Great Mordred hunch his stance like a puppy. You had him bow his head and apologize to each of the terrified staff members and his fellow Knights. Tristan accepted it with a shrug whilst Gawain replied with a stern scolding, before herding everyone out of the room with the help of Mash.  
With that out of the way, and a pouting but placated Mordred by your side, you focused your glare on Merlin. You weren’t exactly angry with Mordred, just disappointed that he had left himself be so easily coerced towards his short temper by the Grand Caster. The Knight was far from a child, and he had proven himself as such many times on the battlefield and as your lover. What truly did irk you however, was Merlin taking advantage of Mordred’s heavily guarded but still fragile heart. Having knowing from a past life helped the Caster slither his way into the deepest crevices of the Saber’s insecurities, and you could only wonder how deep he must’ve gotten given the destruction around you. Situations like this only served as a reminder that Merlin wasn’t human, and if left unchecked, he could make some serious damage with his icy and ruthless persona.  
As if answering to your brewing temper, Fou jumped from you shoulder and straight into Merlin’s face. The force of the leap hurled the Caster back and into a pretty ungraceful tumble. He cried out as he tried to fight the familiar off, and you took the opportunity to guide Mordred by the hand and towards the privacy of your room. You would deal with Merlin later, maybe even in the company of Artoria and Bedivere.  
The small trip was silent and tense, especially as the Saber’s grip grew tighter over your much smaller fingers. You could feel his anger, but most of all, his hurt and fear through the touch that grew hot and clammy by the second. The moment you stepped into your room and the door closed with a quick swish behind you, Mordred became a torrent of anxiety ridden apologies.  
“-he insulted your honour! I’ve let him get away with many things, but that’s one thing Clarent nor I will stand for!” You listened, never losing the grip you had on him. He explained how Merlin had unexpectedly joined him for lunch to probe about your relationship. Mordred always boasted about you, professing the love and admiration he held for you without shame, but something about how the Caster had first approached him made him want to punch his face right in. Sure enough, his initial innocent line of questioning had been quick to shift into vulgar territory, and the mere recall of it was making red spark angrily crackle on the space between the two of you.  
You believed his explanation, but you still worried. He was the type that never lied, just gave a shortened and abridged version of the truth. It was tricky to coax it out of him, because if he truly had no desire to talk, no force in Chaldea could get him to say it. Still, you had to try, there was no way you were risking another explosive confrontation, especially if it spilled into the dangers of the battlefield. You needed him focused, but most of all, clear of heart.  
“I see. Thank you for standing up for me, it means a lot.” He shrugged it off, as if having your back was nothing but a task that came natural to him. “But that wasn’t all, was it?”  
He tensed up and kept his gaze trained on the space above your head. The Knight could be reduced to a stubborn child in a second, but not such an act would stop you from finally getting to the bottom of this. So, taking both of his hands on yours, you guided him toward your bed. There you sat on the edge before moving your grip over his shoulders to swivel him around and push him down between your legs.  
“H-hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” As he fidgeted and complained you stretched back to retrieve the brush you kept on your nightstand. You tighented your legs around his shoulders as a playful warning, instantly making him give in with an embarrassed pout.  
“I’m doing your hair, so stay still for me for a sec. Promise I won’t pull.”  
He huffed but showed his acceptance by allowing his body to sag against you. Carefully, you undid his high ponytail and loosened the small braids that ran through the side of his head. It was silent as you worked his thick golden mane, always careful not to pull too hard by the time you swapped your fingers for the brush.  
“Mordred, I won’t pressure or guilt you into talking to me.” You began, smoothing his hair from top to bottom before placing the brush away as you began to arrange his hair into a low and loose braid. “But I’ve felt it, you have something to say, and if you wish to trust me with whatever it is, I’m all ears.”  
Again, it was silent. You felt hope swell your heart at the lack of growing tension over his shoulders, and you had to stop your fingers for a second by the time he finally decided to speak up. His expression was unreadable from your perch on the bed, but the sudden red tint that had taken over the tips of his ears was all you truly needed see before you resumed doing his hair.  
“You know I love you, right? I love you so much it hurts and it makes me scared. Scared of what you might think and who I can become because of it. The last time I felt this intensely I put a sword through my father’s heart.” His words brimmed with emotion, and he sounded almost...afraid. Not daring to interrupt him, you continued tending to his hair with trembling fingers and burning eyes.  
“Merlin questioned my devotion to you. I’ve come to peace with the idea that neither he or any of the Knights will accept back my sword after I betrayed our King and The Table. I can live with it, I have and always will. But you? You are my present, not my past, and neither Father, Merlin or any of the Knights have the right to meddle with it.”  
“Oh Mordred…”  
“I made an oath to you, and lightning strike me if I betray it. Before your lover I was your Servant and you my Master, so if you see my feelings as an inconvenience, then I’ll back off-”  
He was babbling at this point, so you pulled on the newly made braid, and hard. He squawked as his head was janked backwards, and just as he readied himself to roar back at the ill treatment, especially as you had interrupted him and promised not to pull, he felt the words die the moment his eyes met your own. Your hair fell around him like a curtain, hiding your exchange from the world for just a moment. He could see the answer in your eyes, but just watching the words form and pass through your lips made his own eyes burn.  
“Thank you for trusting me. I swear to take care of you too, my Knight. I love you too, so so much.” You murmured, curling your fingers around his braid, tugging on it with a silent but clear message. In response, he cupped your face and angled it downwards so that your lips met in a deep kiss. The angle was kind of awkward and made your neck prick, but you paid it little mind as you melted into the exchange.  
Something had definitely changed that day. He didn’t shy away from meeting your eyes whenever you caught him staring or snapped at whoever hovered too close for comfort anymore. His focus on battle had also changed, and you almost straight out bawled when he willing cooperated with both his Father and Merlin to take down a particularly nasty foe. You credited it on a newfound understanding between the two of you, but Mordred on your amazing ~~kissing~~ braiding skills. Well, whatever the case, you could both agree that Merlin was also to thank in a way, but could continue on without a pump to his over inflated ego.


End file.
